Manchester United Transfer News: Thomas Muller World-Record Bid, Top Rumours

Manchester United were ready to smash the transfer record in order to bring Bayern Munich's Thomas Muller to Old Trafford. The Red Devils are said to have prepared an £88 million offer to tempt the club into selling the world-class talent.

According to Kicker (h/t Louis Sealey of Metro), United manager Louis van Gaal was "desperate" to land the attacker and ready to offer the gigantic fee to force Bayern's hand. 

However, the Bavarians refused to renege on their decision to retain the World Cup winner, snubbing the chance to create transfer market history.

Kicker also said United had prepared a five-year deal for Muller worth £9.2 million per year.

Scott Heppell/Associated Press

It has been widely reported Muller is close to Van Gaal—the coach who gave him his breakthrough as a talented teenager.

The 26-year-old has previously made no attempt to mask his admiration for his former mentor, fuelling rumours Muller might be tempted to reunite with LvG in the Premier League, as reported by Simon Rice of the Independent: "It’s a secret for nobody. Louis van Gaal and I have a relationship that goes beyond that which is normal between a player and a coach. However, I have a contract with Bayern."

Bayern supremo Karl-Heinz Rummenigge was clear in his assessment of potentially losing Muller to a European rival, saying the striker is "unsellable" and that "a player like Muller doesn't have a price tag," per Mark Lovell of ESPN FC.

Lovell commented that despite Bayern's decision to lose Bastian Schweinsteiger to the Manchester side, Muller is viewed in a different context by the club's senior staff:

"

The Bundesliga champions were criticised in some quarters for getting rid of fan favourite Bastian Schweinsteiger at a decent price to United. But the 31-year-old Schweinsteiger's best days are behind him, however talented he may be and however bright he has looked in his cameos so far. 

The same scenario cannot be said for Muller. Already a veteran of two outstanding World Cup campaigns...Muller has the world at his feet for both club and country.

"

Michael Probst/Associated Press

United have started the season short of strikers, and it seems logical they will move for a top name once the transfer window reopens in January. The winter window is notoriously difficult to do business in, with the best players, for the most part, cup-tied in the Champions League, but if United were given any encouragement to revisit a deal for Muller, Van Gaal will surely jump at the chance.

Muller has began the new campaign in typical fashion, scoring six goals in his first four Bundesliga matches, per WhoScored.com.

United may have found a gem in Anthony Martial, who produced a goalscoring cameo against Liverpool on Saturday, but with Wayne Rooney in decline and into his latter years, LvG must find a centre-forward who can lead his attack moving forward.

No Desire from Sergio Ramos to Join United

Vlatko Perkovski/Associated Press

It became one of the longest running sagas of the summer, but it now seems the flirtation between Manchester United and Sergio Ramos was pure fantasy, at least according to Real Madrid president Florentino Perez.

Perez told Cadena COPE (h/t Liam Corless of the Mirror) he never felt he would lose his centre-back despite intense speculation surrounding the Spain lynchpin: "Ramos never wanted to leave Madrid and Madrid never wanted him to leave. It took us five minutes to fix it."

Ramos appeared to be disenfranchised at the Bernabeu but has since signed a new deal to remain at the club until 2020, per the Press Association (h/t the Guardian). The player elaborated on his decision to remain at Los Blancos:

"

Honestly, if it was an economic decision I wouldn’t have stayed. It wasn’t a question of money. There were personal and professional things that I needed to organise and that is all sorted. It is reality that I wasn’t happy in certain ways. I never said I wanted to leave but I spoke to the people I needed to speak to and couldn’t continue how I was.

Those personal things were nothing to do with money. The economic situation, the president and I solved that in five minutes. There were other things to talk about—past, present and future.

"

Daniel Ochoa de Olza/Associated Press

Ramos hinted he spoke to suitors, mentioning the economics surrounding his summer situation, and United would have been ready to make him one of their top earners in order to bring him to Old Trafford.

The Madrid captain would have been a dream signing for United fans, giving the club the leader so many supporters crave.

However, the failure to grab Ramos has opened the door for Chris Smalling—who has started the campaign in sensational fashion. 

Smalling has developed into a top-class talent, and if he maintains his form, he might save Van Gaal a sizeable amount of money, which could be used to improve the squad elsewhere.